Chippy Garage door with Lead Paint

Chippy Lead Paint suspected on garage door.

Here’s the subject, one very old, very chippy garage door. My garage has two overhead doors. Years ago it was a “drive-through” garage. This door gets opened every time I work in the garage to allow a breeze and additional light. The ONLY time I ever see this door closed  is when I’m mowing the back yard. Those who know me well, know I do not like mowing, I rush through it just to get it done, and I have  just looked the other way and ignored this door for many years. Can ya tell?

This is the summer to tackle these type of nagging chores.

What I used:

• Lead Test Kit
• Tarp
• Paint Scraper
• Safety Glasses
• Respirator Mask
• Paint/Primer
• Paint Brush/Roller
• Water
• latex gloves
• 2 mil thick plastic bag for disposal of lead chips

Not pictured, the paint brush I used. In the picture but NOT used is the sand paper. Do NOT sand lead based paint unless using the proper sander with a HEPA filter.

Yep, my paint tested RED, which means LEAD. This is a very important step, do not skip it.

After I got the RED results, I did some research. Did you know that there were laws passed on 2010 about the removal of lead based paints? If you’re a homeowner, you are pretty much on your own. If you hire this type of job out, the contractors are highly trained and regulated.

I found these sites very helpful. What New Lead Paint Law Means For Homeowners, EPA site

I donned my safety glasses and respirator and got busy scraping the chippy lead paint.

I gently picked up the tarp to get all the paint chips in the same area, then sprinkled them with some water. This step is to keep the dust down while gathering the chips.

I think I used a little too much water. I used gloves during this step while collecting all the chips. In my area I can dispose of a small amount of lead debris in the garbage in a thick bag. Please check your local codes for safe disposal.

I painted the door with a coat of primer.

I then did 3 light coats of paint. I opted not to tape the glass because I wanted to make sure I covered all the old lead based paint.

I dreaded scraping the paint off the windows, but it went so quickly and removed so easy using this technique. I scored along all 4 sides to break the seal. Then I used the scraper to remove the paint in strips! It’s hard to see in this picture, but that is a long strip of paint  (see the gray primer?) that has folded over itself.

See how it all came off so easily? Instant gratification.

ahhh, nice clean windows! I washed the windows inside and out. The outside of the windows were barely dirty. The inside, on the other hand was filthy!

I took a picture from this low angle so you aren’t so distracted by all of the silly reflections in the windows.

Is it perfect? Nope, it’s perfectly old and I’m sure it has stories to tell. I’m embracing the chippy charm of my very old (newly painted) garage door!

This is just the beginning…. after painting the garage door, I felt compelled to do some tidying up in this very small unused backyard. I cut a tree down, cleared away some brush overgrowing around the garage, and threw away some odd and ends lumber that needed to be dealt with.

Isn’t it amazing how such a small change can domino into other small tasks, that added together make a big change. It put a smile on my face.

I hope this post nudges you to get busy to update something at your home.

gail